


to the ends of the earth

by ThisJoyAndI



Category: Community (TV)
Genre: AND THAT SONG, F/M, Spoilers for 6x13, THAT FINALE, THAT FINALE MAN
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-02
Updated: 2015-06-02
Packaged: 2018-04-02 12:43:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4060468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisJoyAndI/pseuds/ThisJoyAndI
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(would you follow me?)<br/>Jeff lets Annie go, but he knows that she'll be back. 'He may have screwed up his career, and it may be too late for him to do anything about that now, but he isn’t going to stand in the way of Annie and her dreams. He loves her too much to even contemplate doing such a thing.'</p>
            </blockquote>





	to the ends of the earth

Jeff has never been more thankful that his Lexus is automatic, because when Annie stretches her hand out and laces their fingers together, he is more than happy to hold her hand the entire drive to the airport. And if Abed notices the hand-holding from his position in the back-seat, he doesn’t say anything, just like he hadn’t said anything about Jeff taking Annie’s suitcase from her before she could attempt to lift it herself and Annie merely rolling her eyes at him but sliding into the passenger seat without complaint. 

Not that Jeff would mind if Abed did say something because hell he’s told Annie he loves her, he’s done the thing he’s been afraid of doing for so long, so why bother trying to hide his feelings from the rest of the group? But Abed remains quiet for the entirety of the drive to the airport, reflective almost, and when Jeff glances in the rear-view mirror Abed is staring out the window, watching everything pass him by.

L.A. will be immensely different than Greendale, and Jeff knows Abed well enough to understand why he’d want to try and remember everything he could about the town, shitty as it was.

Everything’s changing, but for once, Jeff isn’t scared.

Okay…maybe he’s a _little_ scared. But the way Annie’s fingers intertwine with his and the softness of her palm definitely helps to quell the nerves in his stomach. After all, they’ll only be gone for a little while. Everyone eventually comes back to Greendale, and even if they don’t, it isn’t as if they’ll disappear from his life entirely. Staying in touch with old friends, isn’t that what social media is for? And god knows there’s nothing better to do at Greendale than whittle away the hours on Facebook, dodging game requests from the Dean.

Jeff can’t make them stay, Annie especially. He may have screwed up his career, and it may be too late for him to do anything about that now, but he isn’t going to stand in the way of Annie and her dreams. He loves her too much to even contemplate doing such a thing, and he knows she would never love him if he did force her to stay. Hell, she'd probably shout at him and leave anyway, their relationship in shreds. Annie is an adult, far wiser than he ever could have been at her age, and she’s fully capable of making her own decisions.  


She’s grown into an intelligent, caring, kind, amazing woman, and god Jeff loves her so much he can scarcely believe it. He can’t imagine his life without her, and he tries not to think about how empty inside he was without her, without all of the group, without everyone he’s ever met at Greendale – Leonard included.

He knows she loves him too, because she was the one to suggest he kiss her. If she felt nothing other than strong friendship towards him, Annie never would have let him cradle her head in his hand and press his lips gently to hers, desperately trying to convey just how much he loves her.

It’s a lot (like, _a lot_ a lot) but he thinks she already knew that. She’s always been too smart for her own good. He’s just lucky that he got the chance to be in her life, got the chance to love her for the amazing woman she has always been.

Jeff tries not to frown when Annie’s hand slips out of his as they near the airport departure gates, reading their gate numbers aloud off the piece of paper her hand now grasps. He tries not to be sad about it, but when she turns her head to grin at him, he can’t help but smile back. This is the first of certainly many work-related trips for her, and he imagines that there's nothing quite like jetting off to a new place, even if it means leaving the people you love behind.

But he can’t focus on that now, nor should he. There is no way he can place that kind of guilt on Annie. Hell, he’s a grown man, and with or without Annie present in Greendale, he’ll survive the summer. He’s done it before. And Annie will be back, regaling them all of tales of her internship, and he just knows that he won’t be able to stifle how proud he'll be of the woman he loves. Annie’s ready to conquer the world, and he wouldn’t dream of stopping her.

All he can do is watch her leave, send her on her way with well-wishes, and wait for her to come back.

He tugs their bags out of his boot with ease, placing Annie’s suitcase gently down on the road. When he closes the lid, she’s there standing behind him, her eyes twinkling with excitement and her hair loose around her face. She may have grown up so much over these last few years, but sometimes when he looks at her she still reminds him of that eager excited young woman he met that first day at Greendale, ready to question and oppose him if need be. He never wants her to lose that desire to question things. She’ll need it, if his own life experiences are anything to go by.

Annie looks up at him, and he instinctively bends down to embrace her, pressing his lips softly against her mouth without thinking. It is a kiss that lasts a mere second, a mere press of the lips, but somehow it’s better than anything he’s ever experienced. It’s better because it’s with _Annie_ , and he never wants to lose the feeling that swells through his chest whenever she’s near ever again.  


She smiles into his neck, murmuring a soft goodbye against his skin. Her hair smells of vanilla, and he never wants to let her go.

But he has to, and he does, waving them both off with a smile after hugging Abed tight.

He lets her go, and if he drinks more than a few scotches tonight whilst drunkenly lamenting about her departure, well, she never needs to know.  

He lets her go, and he slowly gets back into his car after he watches them disappear through the doors, hands clutching the steering wheel tightly. Annie’s left her lip-balm behind in the console, and he doesn’t know whether she’s forgotten it by mistake or left it behind on purpose, but either way he’s thankful for the small item, uncapping it and breathing in the manufactured strawberry scent. Jeff imagines it would taste exactly like Annie’s lips, so he slips it into his pocket with a soft smile.

He let her go, but she’ll be back.

And maybe, just maybe, when she returns from Denver, they’ll be together in every sense of the word. And maybe, just maybe, just like he’s been prone to imagining these last few months, in a few years they’ll be married with a kid on the way.

But maybe not. Maybe none of that will happen. He’ll try not to be bothered by it if it doesn’t happen, because really all that matters is that Annie knows he loves her. All that matters is that Annie is a constant presence in his life until he draws his final breath. Annie in his life, in any shape or form, that’s all he cares about.

He was a fool for not realising it before, but hey, he’s always been a fool.

Now he’s a fool who is desperately in love with Annie Edison. 

It’s a good thing she loves him too.

**Author's Note:**

> Like I said in the tags...THAT FINALE MAN! 
> 
> And driving them to the airport was such a BOYFRIENDY thing I squealed so hard and I couldn't help but imagine them holding hands the whole way there so this was born whoops. 
> 
> I went in not expecting much at all, and we got SOOOOO much. Even if we don't get another season/a movie, I'm pretty happy with what we got. Jeff told Annie he loves her, has always loved her, Annie told him to kiss her, they kissed, and everything is absolutely fantastic! Plus, I'm always here for Jeff supporting Annie in pursuing her dreams because she is one amazing woman and she deserves to be treated as such. 
> 
> So, yeah. This happened. This is probably the fastest I've ever written a fic, and I'll have to check it over tomorrow to see if there's any mistakes. Curse you Dan Harmon for not giving us anything and then giving us everything in ONE EPISODE the very night before I have a test. 
> 
> Jeff x Annie forever guys! 
> 
> FOREVER!


End file.
